Piedmont: Police investigate home invasion

PIEDMONT -- Police say they have located the getaway vehicle used in a home invasion on Scenic Avenue and are following leads toward identifying the three suspects who held a family at gunpoint.

The victims, a husband and wife and their adult son, were not hurt during the robbery, which occurred about 8:20 p.m. Dec. 12 in the 100 block of the street.

The son, who is in his 20s, went outside to retrieve an item from his car when he initially noticed the three men loitering across the street, Piedmont police Detective George Phifer said.

The men confronted him at gunpoint and escorted him back into the residence, where one suspect remained with the family as the others ransacked rooms for valuables, Phifer said.

The men fled in a black, four-door Pontiac with electronics, jewelry and money. A neighbor who noticed the suspects fleeing pursued them because he mistakenly thought they were attempting to steal a vehicle, Phifer said.

The witness followed the men down Moraga Avenue toward Pleasant Valley Road in Oakland and lost sight of them near the Rockridge Shopping Center.

Investigators later found the Pontiac parked in Oakland, although police declined to provide the exact location or details on how it was tracked down.

"We are also following other leads and there's a strong possibility that we will be able to identify the suspects," Phifer said Thursday.

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As part of the investigation, Piedmont police have been working with authorities in San Leandro, where a home invasion was also reported the same night involving suspects with a similar description.

In the Piedmont case, the first suspect is described as a black man, 6-feet-4-inches tall, 170 pounds, with dark skin and gold teeth. He was wearing a black hoodie and was armed with a silver handgun.

The second suspect is a black man in his late 20s or early 30s, 5-feet-10-inches tall, 190 pounds. He was also wearing a black hoodie and was armed with a black handgun.

The third suspect is a man in his 20s who was wearing a gray hoodie.

The men were likely casing homes to burglarize or looking for people to rob when they confronted the Piedmont family, who were apparently targeted at random, police said.